Photo by Howard H. Cleaves 



kili.d]];e;r: the spot selected eor the nest was in the center oe a potato 



FIELD 



The photographer may be dimly seen under the tree in the background, where he was pulling 



the thread 



shoulder and remained perched about on 

 dead trees, looking on at the assault. 



The whole thing was strikingly like an 

 arena battle, with the crows cawing and 

 croaking approval and encouragement 

 from their points of vantage while the 

 furious and screaming red - shoulder 

 dashed in at the non-resisting owl in the 

 pit below. First the dummy got a whack 

 on the back of the head and then in the 

 face, and at each blow the air was full of 

 feathers (see pages 8 and 9). 



The hawk selected two perches — one 



to the east and the other to the west of 

 the owl — and back and forth between 

 these he flew, striking viciously at the 

 enemy each time as he passed, occasion- 

 ally wheeling and delivering a double- 

 barreled blow before going on to his 

 lookout. The owl was now knocked into 

 an almost horizontal position by a strike 

 from the rear, and now bent into a nor- 

 mal, upright attitude by an attack from 

 the front ; and there he would sit, solemn 

 and erect, ready for the next rush. 



Whenever the hawk lagged the least 



17 



